Suppose you could go to the movie theater and see a film about working people, struggling against great odds to enrich the quality of their lives. And suppose that instead of relying on a great individual leader, they made their own decisions and fought their own battles.

While hiking with my American-born kids I found myself repeating the words “hay foot, straw foot” trying to motivate them to keep going as they were getting tired. I reflected on how I first learned the phrase from my West Cork granny, and decided to investigate the term a little further.  I grew intrigued to learn this phrase is shared between Ireland and America.



“Hay-foot, straw-foot” was a term my late granny…

Once upon a time, I spent a year living on the western coast of Ireland. From my American frame of reference, it took a bit of adjustment to become accustom to the Gaeltacht of Connemara’s shores. My acclimation to the culture came in curious increments comprised of chance encounters in unexpected places, but they gave me…

During the Great Hunger in Ireland the Ottoman Empire sent £1,000 sterling (about $1,500,000 today) and three shiploads of food to Drogheda, Ireland.

The Ottoman ruler at that time -- Sultan Khaleefah Abdul-Majid – wanted to send £10,000 sterling to Irish farmers but Queen Victoria requested…

DOMHNAIGH -- On July 26, 1739, George Clinton (right), soldier, first governor of New York, and vice president of the United States, was born in Little Britain, N.Y., of Irish Protestant parents. Clinton served in his father's New York state militia unit during the French and Indian War before being elected to the New York…

A sculpture of nine eagle feathers by Alex Pentek has been installed in Midleton, County Cork, to thank the Choctaw Indians for their …

In the following three-part series, Sixteen Films' screenwriter Paul Laverty writes about the genesis of "Jimmy's Hall." His observations were first published in Sixteen Films' Production Notes, and are reproduced here with permission. Production Photos see here are by Joss…

Michael Collins sat hunched over the small office desk, studying the papers before…

The region of Connemara is the very edge of Europe on the west coast of Ireland, spanning the majestic Twelve Bens mountains, embracing lakes and pre-historic bogs, bounded on the west, south and north by the Atlantic Ocean. This beautiful region is the essence of Ireland, with unspoilt and ever changing invigorating…

“A nice thing to find in one of the largest bookshops in the city. And in one of the main streets of Dublin, no less.”

Dan slammed the book on the manager’s desk.

Mr. Molloy looked at the book. “My good man, there is no way we would have that book for sale,” he said.

“It was with the Greek literature.  Any young student could have…

The real Jimmy Gralton in 1944

By Donal Ó Drisceoil

Jimmy Gralton returned to Leitrim from New York in June 1921, just as the Anglo-Irish war was coming to a close. That conflict between…

Gracie Allen was born to George Allen and Molly Darragh, who were of Irish Catholic extraction. The Darraghs are listed as being from County Antrim with Gracie’s father, Patrick, born in 1833 and married Margaret Peggy McKillip from Ballymoney, County Antrim. The Darraghs were from County Antrim. Gracie’s father, Patrick, born in…

Fionn mac Cumhaill is a main character from ancient Irish legend from the 3^rd century AD. He was a warrior, a chieftain, a poet and seer. Often referred to as Finn McColl, Finn MacCoul, Finn Mac Cool, Finn McCul, Fin McCool or Fionn…

One day during our just completed two-week vacation to Ireland my wife, Lindy, and I had another of those thoroughly enjoyable “only in Ireland” experiences that make traveling there such a joy. We stayed in a 200-year-old cottage in the little town of Ardfinnan…

The distance between Inverin and Clifden is approximately sixty kilometers. It’s a visually inspiring hour-long ride through undulating midlands with grass as soft as velvet, gray stone walls that split the landscape, and bubbling intermittent streams as you glide along a two-lane road that cuts through a…

When the Black and Tans were first deployed in Ireland in March 1920, they soon proved themselves to be a pretty brutal bunch. They were liberal with the use of their rifles, were often drunk and even engaged in arson and robbery.

The Tans were ex-servicemen, many of them scarred from their time in the…

The Cormack Brothers is a 111-minute feature film completed this year, shot in Tipperary.  It tells the story of two brothers wrongfully hanged for murder in 1858 after a local land agent was shot and killed.  They were reburied in 1910 in their home parish of Loughmore. 

Made on a micro budget, with the support of the parish…

Well, you just have to listen to Davy Spillane's music before you answer my question. Here's a short video that I created of my recent solo exhibition in Áras Éanna on…

I gaze upon a lonely beach, two figures walking all alone,

Slowly the sun settles in the west, remnants of daylight shone.

From my vantage I see two shadows moving on the beach,

Strolling slowly just within darkness’ reach.

I watch the pair moving slowly along,

And listen carefully, I can hear their song.

A lifetime of love and…